


Santa Claus is Coming to Town

by Asterne_In_a_Sky, MidoriKurenaiYume



Series: Winter Wonderland [9]
Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Eve, Christmas Party, Dialogue, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Teenagers, hints of romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-16 21:35:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16961919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asterne_In_a_Sky/pseuds/Asterne_In_a_Sky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: At Irisviel's Christmas party, Gilgamesh has no qualms about telling everyone what he thinks about Christmas.





	Santa Claus is Coming to Town

**Author's Note:**

> Ninth Winter one-shot, where the characters are about 13-14 years old ;)  
> ([here](https://agilartlogbook.tumblr.com/post/181111956640/santa-claus-is-coming-to-town) on tumblr)
> 
>  **Asterne_In_a_Sky** : Gilgamesh is a massive jerk. Even on Christmas. But Arturia gives him a chance. 
> 
> **MidoriKurenaiYume** : it's a lot of fun to make Arturia and Gilgamesh younger :P we hope you'll enjoy!!!
> 
> Title: from a Christmas song, that was also sung by Kalafina ;)  
> THEME: faith.

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The conversations that took place in class were mostly about idle subjects and never particularly interesting, but lately they had truly begun to be tedious.

Only because Christmas was approaching, it seemed that people could solely talk about the festivities, instead of choosing subjects at least _slightly_ more meaningful. Not that Gilgamesh had ever had high hopes when it came to his classmates’ intelligence, but they certainly didn’t encourage him to try to change his mind on that.

He had never understood all the fuss there was around Christmas. It was completely and utterly pointless, and he would not waste his time with something so unworthy of him, especially if it was something most mongrels seemed to be so fascinated by.

That was why he was fuming about the fact that he had been forced to go to a _Christmas party_ of all things. Irisviel von Einzbern had invited everyone for a sleepover to her mansion on Christmas Eve, to celebrate the holidays, and unfortunately everyone’s parents had heard about it as well – which had prompted Gilgamesh’s parents to take him there, in spite of his vehement protests. So now he found himself at the extravagantly decorated castle, where he absolutely hadn’t wanted to be, and therefore didn’t even bother hiding his sulking.

Irisviel was completely oblivious to it. She was excited and delighted about celebrating, running around and offering Christmas cookies to every single guest with infectious, never-ending enthusiasm. She had decorated the rooms with Arturia’s help earlier, and kept beaming whenever the other young teenagers looked around in awe or paid her a compliment.

After some brief chitchat, it was immediately the time for a variation on the Secret Santa tradition, with the exchanging of the gifts and them containing random surprises for the special anonymous. Irisviel was delighted when she opened a package containing reindeer-themed pyjamas, and Arturia seemed surprisingly happy to hold her own fluffy tiger plushie.

Of course there were some inevitably sarcastic comments here and there as they were all busy chatting with each other, but no quarrel had broken out yet, which meant that the party could be considered a success.

That was the case however only until the general conversation turned to the merits of the celebration itself, when some sort of division seemed to emerge among the guests.

Several, with Irisviel chief among them, enthusiastically and passionately defended the importance of celebrating Christmas and spreading its joy everywhere, together with the restless wait for Santa Claus and the presents. Others thought it was slightly overrated and would have preferred the holiday season to be less long and perhaps less flamboyant. But they all agreed on the fact that there was something special about just enjoying the Christmas spirit.

This general sentiment of agreement was abruptly cut off when Gilgamesh reached the end of his patience and decided to voice his own opinion, which happened to be the exact opposite.

Tone polite but cold and bored, he was heard by everyone as he said, not addressing anyone in particular, “Santa Claus doesn’t exist. Parents are the ones who buy the presents.”

He let out an almost derisive huff as many turned to stare at him. “The so-called ‘Christmas spirit’ you like to invoke is nothing more than a commercial scam, well-exploited by toymakers who manage to make money out of fools that believe in it.”

Noticing a few glares being sent in his direction, he seemed unconcerned and concluded by pointing out, “You all know that I’m telling the truth. If this celebration meant anything, then adults would be sharing gifts too, instead of merely making us, the children, do it.”

There were a few moments of stunned silence after he spoke, everyone glancing around with uncertainty. It was hard to come up with any kind of response, when he had expressed his opinion in a way that made it hard to find an effective counterargument.

In either case, even as people started talking among themselves again, looking at Gilgamesh with a certain amount of both apprehension and suspicion – while he completely ignored them – it was obvious that the joyous sentiment that had been permeating the party until this point was now staggering.

Irisviel’s eyes were filled with tears even though she was valiantly fighting to hold them back, and Kiritsugu and Diarmuid, who were next to her, glared at Gilgamesh while trying to cheer her up. Kirei, on the other side of the room, had his usually stoic expression, even though a closer look would have revealed that he was somewhat amused by all the drama.

Arturia hadn’t been in the room at the time of Gilgamesh’s sudden declaration, having gone to the kitchen to re-stock some of the snacks. As soon as she was back, however, she was immediately at Irisivel’s side to support her while Diarmuid quietly told her what had transpired. Arturia’s heart ached for Irisviel, as she knew that her friend not only loved Christmas and all its traditions, but also firmly believed in them. For Gilgamesh to ridicule them so callously, especially at this party, organized by Irisviel herself, it was definitely the proof that he had no problems behaving like a total jerk.

She would have liked to actually be able to say that he _was_ a total jerk, but unfortunately, even though her acquaintance with him was superficial – as he tended to keep himself willingly isolated – she knew that he hadn’t said those things with the intent of hurting Irisviel. He had always shown to be irritable around the subject of Christmas; that, together with his obvious reluctance about being at the party in the first place, must have been the cause that had made him become exasperated enough to snap. According to Diarmuid, he had said everything in a calm voice, as if stating a fact, and had even been smiling politely, which had made his entire speech harsher by filling it with condescension.

Either way, this was _Irisviel’s_ Christmas party. Whether or not there were valid reasons for Gilgamesh’s behaviour, he had still made her friend cry while making it obvious that he had a low opinion of the upcoming festivities; therefore, after comforting Irisviel a little more, Arturia decided that she had to do something about it.

She approached Gilgamesh, who was standing by himself in another part of the room, studiously ignoring everyone else, who had already gone back to chatting to each other and apparently actively avoiding him.

“You are very rude, Gilgamesh,” she told him, initiating a conversation without preamble.

She did not intend to create a spectacle, so she kept her volume down to make sure that only he would hear her.

He gave her an odd glance. He didn’t seem surprised by her words; what _did_ seem to surprise him was the fact that she had come over, completely unafraid, to address him.

“It’s very impolite of you not to consider Irisviel’s feelings at all before making your opinion known, _at her house_ of all places. You know as well as everyone how much she loves Christmas.”

He regarded her with an impassive look, deciding to grant her a reply.

“Why not spend your time talking elsewhere, maybe to those other fools who are being dismissive of ‘the decorations, the music and food’ behind her back? I never said I thought less of this party. The subject of my dislike is the holiday itself, which in this case happens to be Christmas.”

Arturia wasn’t about to let him shut her up as he had done with everyone else, and countered, “But Irisviel’s party is about _celebrating_ Christmas. Not everyone can be satisfied with all the party’s details, but if you negate the meaning of Christmas, you are dismissing the meaning of this party as well.”

He did not seem taken aback by her words, but he definitely gave them his attention, apparently deciding to consider them in earnest and not immediately brush them off, even though he still let out a scoff.

“Please. Any person with a functioning brain should know that the stories about Santa are nothing but fake nonsense. It’s impossible for a drunken elderly man to be making toys at the North Pole. If one pays attention before the winter season, it’s not hard to see department stores preparing the Christmas presents.”

Arturia had to reign in her temper at his infuriatingly calm coldness, for she didn’t intend to cause another scene at Irisviel’s party when he had already spectacularly done so.

“I know Santa doesn’t exist, as many other people do as well. There was however no need for you to loudly say so at this party, even though it’s something I can understand. What I _can’t_ accept, however, is your uncaring dismissal and rejection of the Christmas spirit.”

He scoffed again, this time with a bit more disdain.

“There are no merits to a holiday that is nothing more than a very lucrative business operation. Yet you honestly expect some sort of ‘ _earnest apology_ ’, in spite of the fact that I’m merely pointing out the truth?”

“How dare you make such a generalization and completely disregard all the positive sides of Christmas, of all the joy and happiness it can bring to people?” Arturia retorted, feeling her indignation increase with every dismissive word that left his lips. “Not everyone cares about making money. Not everyone thinks only of themselves. Not everyone is a selfish, rude person who ignores the feelings of others.”

The last words were pronounced with a pointed look at him. There was no loud vehemence in her tone, but her icy anger was enough to prove that she wasn’t going to let him impose his opinion on her. She was aware of the fact that he hadn’t lied about some people considering Christmas a convenient moment to spend more money, but she knew – she believed it wholeheartedly – that for many it was a perfect occasion to show love and care to as many people as they could.

Including those who were rude.

He had raised both eyebrows at her, obviously not having expected her to be so passionate about the subject, and she took advantage of it to continue, “I challenge you.”

The look he gave her was nothing short of disbelieving, and Arturia hid a satisfied smile as she went on, “I challenge you to stay awake with me until midnight, to find out whether or not Santa is actually going to come with the presents.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it and just stared at her. Her expression was resolute, telling him that she was serious, and he tried to process what she had asked him to do, which was at odds with what they had previously said when discussing Santa Claus.

However, there was no possible way to refuse or dismiss the challenge, not without letting her gain the upper hand, and he would not be outsmarted by anyone his same age, not even Arturia, no matter how unafraid of him she seemed to be.

“Fine,” he therefore replied, and was slightly surprised when she leaned forward, reaching for his hand, grasping it in a strong hold and shaking it firmly.

She met his eyes, full of determination, and he felt his lips almost curling upwards in a smirk; she was tenacious, he would give her that.

 

An hour later, Gilgamesh had almost forgotten about the challenge. He had been spending the whole time debating one subject after the other with Arturia, bickering and discussing every last detail about every topic they brought up, and midnight was still several hours away.

Since the party had started in the early afternoon, by nine o’clock most young teenagers were already yawning, and by ten most had retired to their respective guest rooms inside the gigantic mansion.

In the end, only Gilgamesh and Arturia stubbornly refused to give in. They kept talking, even about trivial things, and he helped her take out some blankets when it became colder, but they still forced themselves to continue the conversation in spite of the tiredness. They kept at it as long as they could, not even realizing that they eventually fell asleep some time before midnight.

When she woke up, Arturia immediately sat up, disoriented by the unfamiliar place, while next to her, Gilgamesh was standing up and shaking sleep off as well, equally confused. A quick glance around reminded them that they had fallen asleep in one of the smaller dining rooms, and the clock on the wall revealed that it was a quarter to four, which meant that…

“We both lost the challenge,” Arturia pointed out, even though Gilgamesh gave her a suspicious look as he noticed that she didn’t seem too upset about falling asleep.

He had learned during their conversations earlier that she was quite a competitive person, therefore her quick acceptance of defeat made no sense.

She had to stifle a yawn as she fell into step with him, going to the large living room where she had helped Irisviel decorate the huge Christmas tree. Just a few hours earlier, the space beneath it had been empty; now, it was filled with wrapped presents of every shape and form.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrows, rubbing his eyes in an effort to wake up fully, and commented, with a healthy amount of sarcasm, “It seems that Santa paid a visit after all.”

Arturia shook her head, stretching her arms over her head as she candidly told him, “No, Irisviel’s grandfather is the one who put them there.”

Gilgamesh turned to face her, narrowing his eyes. Her words proved that she had known all along that there would of course be no Santa to see at midnight.

She met his gaze, clearly aware of his displeasure, but she continued easily, without a hint of deception in her voice, “I challenged you to show you that you can be the living proof of the fact that the Christmas spirit exists.”

At his mildly confused look, she explained, eyes never leaving his, “You stayed up with me, bickered with me, helped me with the blankets – and you agreed to this challenge in the first place, even though you were aware of it being pointless, you _agreed_ to spend Christmas Eve in such a manner.”

Her head then tilted to the side, expression open and sincere. “Doing something like this is kind of unique, undoubtedly silly at times, but part of the joy of celebrating Christmas, therefore making it special. So thank you, for agreeing to spend Christmas Eve with me like this.”

Gilgamesh stared at her once again, dumbfounded. She had outsmarted him after all, but the way she had done it made it unfortunately impossible for him to be upset at her, because she had a point: he couldn’t deny – at least inwardly – that he had actually enjoyed the rest of the evening after she had come to speak with him. The challenge had ensured he would be interested enough to go along with her wishes, and she had made it possible for him to actually _not dislike_ a Christmas celebration.

He remained deep in thought for a while, giving her a long, contemplative stare.

Eventually, he slowly told her, “I will speak with the girl–… with Irisviel, as soon as she wakes up.” At her confused glance, he elaborated, with some reluctance, “To make amends about disrupting her party yesterday.”

Arturia blinked, taken back, and couldn’t help giving him a look filled with surprise and curiosity. He hadn’t given her the impression of someone who would recognize his mistakes, let alone apologize for them.

He returned her look, clearly annoyed by her disbelief, and confirmed, “I will offer her an _apology_ , and it will be an earnest one.”

It was far too early for Arturia to express her happiness in a coherent way, so she settled for basically bouncing towards the kitchen and taking out some cookies and milk, pouring two glasses and clearly inviting him to share an impromptu meal with her at four in the morning.

As she sat down, she noticed that he was studying her, and raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“Merry Christmas, Arturia,” he said unexpectedly, before choosing to ignore the stool on the other side of the table and instead taking a seat next to her.

Gilgamesh had been in her same class for over two years, yet he had never seen Arturia smile openly, let alone _beam_ like this, and especially not at him.

“Merry Christmas, Gilgamesh,” she answered happily.

Taking the largest biscuit from the tray, she broke it in two identical pieces and offered him one. As he accepted the treat from the blonde girl’s hands, he felt almost tempted to return her smile, and decided there was nothing wrong with giving in to such a temptation.

After all, it was Christmas.

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